"fiscal cliff" deadline. house republicans opted not to hold any votes on the issue tonight. so-- officially, at least-- more than $600 million in tax hikes and spending cuts begin taking effect tomorrow. in the meantime, senate republicans and the white house continue working on a possible deal. . >> are running out of time. americans are still threatened with a tax hike in just a few hours. >> new year's eve morning at the capitol began with a warning from senate majority leader harry reid. after a long weekend dush -- weekend of tense negotiations vice president joe biden had spent sunday dealing directly with the senate's republican minority leader mitch mcconnell. and those contacts continued today. by early this afternoon amid reports of progress, president obama emerged in a campaign style setting. >> today it appears that an agreement to prevent this new year's tax hike is within sight. but it's to the done. there are still issues left to resolve. but we're hopeful that congress can get it done. but i